"Lay off my wife" - Obama's Inadequacy on Display

By Guest Blogger Michael Begala

"The GOP, should I be the nominee, I think can say whatever they want to say about me, my track record. If they think that they're going to try to make Michelle an issue in this campaign, they should be careful...Whoever is in charge of the Tennessee GOP needs to think long and hard about the kind of campaign that they want to run, and I think that's true for everybody, Democrat or Republican."

Barack Obama


Obama's ill-advised and empty threat actually displays several of his numerous inadequacies.

SEXISM. The first and most obvious. From 'Annie Oakley' to 'the claws come out' to 'sweetie', Obama has demonstrated he not only has sexist attitudes, but mouths them with no hesitation or understanding of the implication of his words. The demand that others "lay off my wife" has overtones of ownership as well as implying his very public and outspoken wife is incapable of handling criticism or defending herself. Can you imagine the howls if Hillary Clinton, in response to criticism of Bill Clinton, had demanded "lay off my husband."?


HYPOCRISY. Obama demands his wife be left alone while personally criticizing Bill Clinton. "He continues to make statements that are not supported by the facts -- whether it's about my record of opposition to the war in Iraq or our approach to organizing in Las Vegas.

"This has become a habit, and one of the things that we're going to have to do is to directly confront Bill Clinton when he's making statements that are not factually accurate,"

In Obama's world, calling a rival candidate's spouse a habitual liar is acceptable, but criticism of his spouse for troubling remarks is out of bounds.

ELITISM. How is it that Michelle Obama became above criticism? What right does she have to be outspoken and public and expect no backlash for what she says, regardless of how inane it may be?

NAIVETY. Did Obama actually believe he could seek the presidency with his wife making open gaffes, and hear no criticism? This shows a breathtaking lack of realism.

INEXPERIENCE. Obama has just over three years on the national stage as a US senator, and much of those have been spent running for president. A more seasoned individual would certainly understand this aspect of public life.

THIN SKINNED. Obama has a tendency to overreact to criticism, and this is no exception. Should he wrap up the nomination as expected, there is a lot of tough rhetoric and campaigning ahead. He would do well to adjust to it.

All of the above indicates how Obama's shortcomings are easily exposed. He needs to do some maturing as a candidate and a person if he expects to successfully carry the Democratic banner this fall.